Sonic The Hedgehog: The Metalla Series
by Masquerade
Summary: Sequel to the Sonic Anime. Sonic and his friends face a new model of Metalla...or two...or three...
1. The Second Metalla

THE METALLA SERIES

All Sonic related characters are © SEGA and TAKI

Carlu "Kick", Governor Mammon, Metalla2, and Prince Mamoru are © me, Masquerade.

Used without permission.

This is how I view the Sonic world: the humans and echidnas of the Heavenly World are practically struggling for superiority. So, they're in a huge economic war, and everyone has two kinds of names. They have an English name, and a Japanese name. For example, Sonic's full name is Sonic "Sonniku," and Tails is Tails "Tailsa." However, echidnas have their Japanese name come first (so Knuckles is Knuckelzu "Knuckles."). Echidnas say everybodys Japanese name, rather than the English name, and for an echidna to call another echidna by his/her English name is usually an insult. Whew, I have no life!

Now that the legal crap is out of the way, let the games begin!

Who am I?You are Metalla.

Where am I? You are in Eggman Land, home to your master, Robotnic.

Who is robotnic? Who is my master? Robotnic is the one you will serve, especially since the first Metalla was destroyed.

First metalla? Aren't I the only one? No. Robotnic made Model1 Metalla a year ago, but it was destroyed. You are the Model2 Metalla, a robot that is faster, stronger, and smarter than the first one.

I am ready to serve robotnic. Patience, Metalla. That day will come, but it is not today. Robotnic has the data you will need to serve him, but he must sort it, so that you will have the traits he wants. You will not have a heart, or feelings.

Won't I need those if I am to work? No, you will not. In a matter of days, you will be active, and you will serve Robotnic greatly.

Yes, I will. ONCE OPORATIONAL, I SHALL BE UNSTOPABLE! I am ready now!

"Impatience can be a weakness, Metalla."

Robotnic? Master, is that you?

"It is me, my creation. Soon, the ones named Sonic and Tails will feel your fury."

Yes, My Master. This Sonic and Tails will witness my power, and it won't be pretty once I am free!

Pt. 1 of 4: The Second Metalla

"Metalla! Take my hand!" Sonic cried as he reached into the pit filling with lava. Metalla, who was beginning to wear down, kept climbing. Knuckles leapt on top of Sonic, holding him back.

"No, Sonniku! He's trying to trick you! He'll pull you in with him!" Knuckles yelled. Sonic did his best to ignore him. Metalla was now close enough to reach out for his hand. The two reached, desperate to touch fingertips. Suddenly…

SLAP! Metalla slapped Sonic's hand away. Sonic gasped in surprise. The lava was catching up to the robot, but Metalla refused to move. He just looked up at Sonic.

"There is only one Sonic." It said slowly. It hung his head, and the lava started to consume him.

"Metalla!" Sonic cried, trying to reach for him again.

"Sonniku, no!" Knuckles yelled, yanking him away. It was the last Sonic ever saw of the robot. Sonic threw back his head, and screamed the word that echoed for miles.

"METALLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Sonic awoke, panting heavily. His pillow and bedsheets were soaked with sweat. He sighed with relief; it was just a bad dream. Amazing how an event from one year ago could scare him so much now. He laid back in his bed, and looked up at the ceiling. He heard his bedroom door open.

"Sonic, are you alright?" a nine-year-old boy's voice asked. Sonic smiled.

"I'm fine, Tails. Why do you ask?"

"I heard you screaming. I didn't hear what you said, but you were talking in your sleep, too." Sonic slapped his forehead. He hadn't talked in his sleep for years. How could he be doing it now? He sighed in frustration.

"It was just a bad dream, Tails. Go back to sleep." Sonic urged, motioning with his hand that Tails go away and leave him alone. He heard the door close, and Sonic went back to sleep.

Knuckles watched the sunrise from where he sat. It was very beautiful today, and for good reason. Knuckles had finally talked to his girlfriend about what he wanted to happen in his future, and she agreed with him. Knuckles couldn't wait to tell Sonic. He would be sooooo jealous…

"Morning, sweetheart." A voice said. Knuckles turned to see Carlu, his lovely girlfriend, walking up to him from her tent. He smiled, and tipped his hat. He continued to watch the sunrise from the mountainside, and almost didn't notice Carlu wrapping her arms around him. "How are you?"

"Great." His smile grew bigger. "How about you, baby?"

"Wondering what you're doing out here at five in the morning." She sighed.

"Kick," Knuckled put his hand on Carlu's cheek, saying her nickname. "This is one of the reasons I brought you down here with me: to see the sunrise in Meta Junglira."

"It's very beautiful." She commented, resting her chin on his head and hat.

"I was going to propose to you this morning, but I couldn't wait." Carlu sat beside her love, looking into his eyes.

"I'm glad you didn't wait." She smiled. They put their arms around each other, and nuzzled their foreheads (an echidna sign of affection). "I'm so glad that we're getting married."

"Mm hm." Knuckles nodded, drawing her closer to him. They gently kissed as the sun emerged fully from the mountains.

****

DREET, DREET, DREET! DREET, DREET, DREET! The phone rang in Sonic's home. Sonic got up from the table, and his breakfast, to go see who it was. When Sonic turned on the monitor, he saw Knuckle's face. Sonic smiled playfully.

"Knuckelzu! Good to see you!"

"Nice to see you too, Sonniku." Knuckles nodded. "Hey, have I got news for you."

"Go ahead, buddy. What is it?" Sonic asked as Tails walked up to the screen with his breakfast bowl in his hand.

"You won't believe this…" Knuckles began, "but…last night…I got engaged."

"Say wha?" Sonic asked, tilting his head. "No way, you're kidding!"

"Have I ever, Sonniku?"

"I guess not." Sonic shook his head. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"Who else? Remember Carlu?"

"You asked her to marry you?" Sonic pointed at the screen, curiously. Knuckles nodded. Sonic clapped once as he laughed.

"You lucky son of a gun!" he exclaimed. "You got the greatest girl on the planet!"

"If you're putting it that way." Knuckles agreed. Carlu, the dark red echidna that had her dreadlocks tied in a French braid, came into view of Knuckles videophone. She smiled and waved at the screen.

"Hi Sonniku! Hi Tailsa! How are you?" she greeted.

"Fine." Tails said.

"Tired." Sonic admitted, yawning. "Nightmare kept me up all night."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"But I'm also very happy for you." Sonic's charming smile returned. "So, you're getting married soon?"

"That's right, but don't think that will be happening anytime soon." She explained. "First off, I need to get legalized back into my home, so that Knuckelzu and I have a place to get married."

"Wish ya luck." Sonic winked at her. Carlu giggled, and walked off screen.

"Well, now that she's gone, we can talk." Knuckles smiled, watching Carlu leave. "Hey, I feel like getting into trouble on Alliance Island. Wanna come?"

"I dunno," Sonic mused. "I don't have anything on my schedule today…" Knuckles laughed.

"When do I pick you up?" he asked. Sonic shrugged.

"Well, actually, now that I know where Eggman Land is, I'd rather get in trouble over there." He suggested.

"Okay," Knuckles nodded. "I'll pick you up in about a few hours."

"Fine with…"

****

DOOP! DOOP! DOOP!

"Oh." Knuckles gasped, checking his phone line. "I've got another call. Could you hold on a sec?"

"Pick us up in a few hours, Knux." Sonic insisted, giving Knuckles a thumbs up. "I'm hanging up."

"Okay, see you later." Knuckles thumbed back. With that, Knuckles hung up.

Knuckles connected onto the other line, and found that it was the Governor Mammon that was calling. Knuckles saluted, and kept his knees from knocking.

"Governor, why are you calling?" Knuckles asked politely.

"Is the lady Carlu there with you, treasure hunter?" the Governor asked.

"Give me a moment, sir." Knuckles requested, and went over to the direction where Carlu had walked off. A minute later, Carlu could be seen on the Governor's video screen.

"Yeah, what is it?" she asked rather rudely. The Governor didn't seem to notice.

"Carlu, you and your friend have been chosen to go on a dangerous assignment." Mammon began.

"Keep going." Carlu urged. Mammon held a blue print paper up to the screen to show Carlu and Knuckles. Carlu looked at it carefully, then gasped.

"You know what this is?" Mammon asked.

"It looks like Metalla blueprints." Carlu stated. "How did you get a hold of them?"

"The N.O.S. smuggled these out of Eggman Land a few hours ago. They are indeed the blueprints of a second Metalla."

"A **second** Metalla?" Knuckles gasped as well. "Robotnic vowed to make one a year ago after the first one was destroyed."

"And it appears that Robotnic lives up to his vows." Mammon continued. "Since the data for the first Metalla was destroyed around the same time as Metalla was destroyed, Robotnic has been working from scratch. Indeed, as these blueprints show, this new generation of Metalla will be much powerful than the last one, since the most dangerous weapon it possesses is the laser turrets on its wrists. However, it is loaded from head to toe with hidden weapons. Unfortunately, we can see that some of the accessories that Robotnic planned to put on it were erased." He pointed his finger at one of the features: a heat-scanner. "So, we believe that this is a first draft copy."

"So, this new Metalla could have any kind of weapons that you don't know about yet?" Carlu asked.

"Yes." Mammon nodded. "So, you two have been assigned to go to Eggman Land, and destroy it before it can be activated."

"Wait a minute!" Knuckles butted in. "Why are you calling us?"

"Not too many of our agents have been into Eggman Land, and we need someone who knows their way arou…"

"That's not what he means, Mammon." Carlu shook her head. "He wants to know why you called us, and instructed us to do something that your men could handle themselves."

"Carlu," Mammon began. "Your father was one of the best men I ever had. He would have been able to do this easily. I'm sure that he passed down his skill as a spy to you, his only child before he died."

"You confuse me, Mammon!" Carlu yelled into the speaker of the videophone. "First, you kick me off my own island, jail me every time I come back to visit my family, now you're begging me for help? And you expect me to help you?" She crossed her arms. "Your problem, Mammon; why don't you deal with it?"

"Carlu, you're worse than Sonic." Knuckles mumbled. "Let me take care of it." He looked into the monitor of his videophone, and directly at the Governor. "Governor Mammon, I invited a friend of mine to help me trash Eggman Land today. He can go with me to Eggman Land, and we can destroy the second Metalla there."

"Approved." Mammon excepted. "But don't tell him about your mission, Knuckles."

"Yes sir." Knuckles saluted. The screen went blank, and Knuckles turned to Carlu.

"You have some explaining to do." Knuckles scolded. "Why didn't you tell me you were part of the spy network?"

"I wasn't, but my father was. I didn't want anything to do with the N.O.S, since they're responsible for my ruined life, not to mention the death of my father." Carlu explained. "Besides, since you know about the spy network, you must be part of a spy faction yourself."

"Yes." Knuckles admitted. "I'm planning to retire though."

"Which group?" Carlu interrogated.

"Superior Service, network of Prince Mamoru."

"Ah, I see." Carlu admitted. "I should have guessed that a guy like you would be a spy in real life."

"Let's not think about that now." Knuckles suggested. "We have a mission to go on." He headed for his vehicle.

"You can go." Carlu insisted. "I'll stay here. I'm not going."

"Okay." Knuckles nodded going back to her, and giving her a hug. "I'll be back soon." He gave her a kiss goodbye, and headed for his vehicle.

"Just out of curiosity," Carlu began as she helped Knuckles onto his Speeder. "Who is this friend you invited to go with you?"

"Secret." Knuckles said, powering the engine. Carlu smiled.

"Its Sonniku, isn't it?"

"I told you, it's a secret." Knuckles smirked, starting to take off. Carlu waved him off with her hand.

"Tell Sonniku that I said hi!" she requested, as Knuckles flew away.

Master? Did you come to see me again?

"I'm afraid that I have bad news for you, Metalla."

Go ahead, what is it?

"Some pesky echidna spies have been caught by some of the guards, and one of them escaped with some of my plans."

What will you do?

"This is the bad news, my creation. I must activate you now; with whatever data I have. Since you have been discovered, it is likely that the President must sent Sonic here to get rid of you."

Activating me doesn't sound like a bad idea. Go ahead, master. I am eager to serve you at last.

"Very well, Metalla. Computer, activate Model2 Metalla."

Yes, Master. Activating unit...

Master…I…am…

"I...am...alive!"

"Model2 Metalla, the data you need is programmed into you now. Use it when Sonic arrives."

"Yes, Master. I will not fail you."

Knuckles landed his Speeder next to Robotnic's fortress. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles got out, and looked around.

"Just like the old days, huh Knux?" Sonic asked. Knuckles adjusted the hat on his head.

"Yep." The echidna nodded. "And just like in the old days, we didn't come all this way just to look at it. Let's get to business."

"Okay, let's go." Sonic agreed, entering the fortress. "Where to first?"

"How about the lab?" Knuckles suggested. "We can destroy anything ol' Robo might be working on."

"Why not?" Sonic gave Knuckles the usual thumbs up. "I wanna see Robotnic when he's really ticked off."

"I think we go this way." Tails pointed down a hallway. Sonic and Knuckles ran for it, and Tails flew behind them.

"Here they come. Boy, will I give them a surprise!"

"Wow. Look at this place." Sonic gasped at the huge size of the laboratory. Several robots were encased in small power beds, and were being energized. Tails studied them for a moment, then went behind each bed. Sonic watched in surprise as he heard small snapping sounds by each bed. One after the other, the beds stopped energizing. Tails came out from behind the last bed with several cords in his fists.

"So much for those robots." He happily announced. Sonic smiled, and ruffled Tails's hair.

"You little genius, Tails." 

"Where is he?" Knuckles grunted in frustration, as he looked over several capsules of robots. "Where is Metalla?" He looked over his shoulder to make sure that neither Sonic nor Tails heard him. They didn't. Good, that was a close call. He continued to scan the room for any trace of Metalla, and he found what he needed to see: a label on a capsule that read:

****

MODEL2 METAL SONIC

READY FOR TRAINING

PURPOSE OF CREATION: ASSASINATION

TARGETS: SONIC "SONNIKU" 

"Okay, so where is it?" Knuckles asked himself, seeing no model in the capsule.

"Did you find something?" Sonic asked, walking up to Knuckles, looking at the inscription. After reading it, Sonic made a face. "I hope that this is old."

"Not by the date on it." Knuckles pointed out. "Look." He showed Sonic the date scribbled on the paper. The date was recent. "It's been in the capsule for a few days."

"Oh, no." Sonic kicked the floor. "Where is it?"

"That's what I was asking myself."

****

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Sonic and Knuckles turned towards the scream.

"TAILS!" They exclaimed, running towards the endangered fox. When they reached Tails they found him cornered by a robot pointing a pistol at him. Sonic stepped foreword.

"Hey, robot!" Sonic yelled. "Let my friend go!" The robot turned to face him, and Sonic gasped. "Metalla!"

The robot looked like an exact copy of Metalla, except that its eyes had a brighter glow, and it had a built in holster in its side. Also, it had a metallic piece of metal curving over his head like bangs, and instead of flat feet the Metalla had thick metal boots. It looked at Sonic in hatred.

"My God." Knuckles gasped as well as the robot pointed the pistol at Sonic. "It's him! It's the second Metalla!"

"Him? 'Him?' Who do you think you are? I'm a girl!" Metalla snapped. Sonic and Knuckles jaws dropped. "That's right, I'm a girl, and my name is Metalla. Also, I've been programmed to destroy Sonic "Sonniku." That would be you."

"Yes." Sonic admitted. "But I doubt that you could actually get me." He ran towards Metalla with Super Sonic Speed, but Metalla just laughed, and warped to safety. Sonic just ran into the corner where Tails was trapped, and nearly crashed into him. Metalla warped back to where she originally stood, pretending to stagger and clench her chest.

"Oh no! My heart! My heart! You nearly gave me a heart attack." She sarcastically shouted. Then she started to laugh. "Get a clue, Sonic! I have the same data as you. I know everything about you, everything down to the last secret. I know your every move, your every thought. I'm somewhat like the last Metalla, only I have even more..." she held out her wrist, and revealed a laser turret pointed at Sonic. "I learned from Metalla1's mistakes, and now that I'm fully functional, you have no hope of defeating me."

"We'll just see about that." Sonic doubted, taking on a fighting pose. "Give me your best shot."

"Okay." Metalla shrugged, firing the laser. Sonic and Tails managed to get out of the way in time. Metalla fired again and again, each time missing. Frustrated that her aim wasn't that good, she powered up her rocket boosters in her boots, and took off after Sonic.

"Y'know," Sonic told Tails as they fled down the hallway. "She must have picked up her bad gun talents from me. I can never shoot a gun."

"D'oh! Of course!" Metalla mentally slapped herself. "Oh well, at least I can pound the snot out of you." She caught up to Sonic, and grabbed one of his spines, and yanked him back with her. Knuckles jumped on top of her as she tried to punch Sonic in the face. Knuckles gave her a blow on the chin, and Metalla was knocked over, giving Sonic time to escape. Metalla mechanically got up, and angrily watched them exit the hall.

"Well, they won't get out of Eggman Land, that's for sure!" She warped out of the fortress.

"I think we're almost there!" Knuckles yelled as they reached the Aincent City on Knuckle's Speeder.

"I think she is too." Sonic notified, pointing behind them. Knuckles checked the rear view mirror to see that Metalla was rocketing on their heels. Knuckles growled.

"It had to be female." He muttered. "Hold on to your butts!" He presed his foot on the gas pedel, and zipped past the huge sky scrappers of the Aincent City. Metalla was actually matching their speed. Knuckles growled at this discovery. "Just doesn't know when to quit. Well, I've got a trick or two up my sleave." He pulled something out of the glove compartment. It was a small blue stick with a little wooden handle. In his hand, it brightly glowed. 

"GET DOWN!" he yelled. Sonic and Tails ducked their heads as Knuckles threw the stick. It struck Metalla in the forehead, and she staggered back with a cry. "Yeah!" Knuckles threw his fist in the air. "You can get up now. She's gone."

"No she's not!" Tails said pointing behind them. Knuckles growled even louder.

"It'll take more than a stun stick to get rid of me!" Metalla yelled at them.

"How about two sticks, you metalic piece of crud." Knuckles muttered taking out another one. "DUCK!" he shouted. Sonic did as he was told, but Tails wasn't that quick. He was about to duck when Knuckles threw the stick, and it struck Tail's head. With a cry simular to Metalla's, Tails fell out of his seat.

"TAILS!" Sonic yelled.

"TAILSA!" Knuckles yelled as well. He steered his Speeder to catch Tails, but Metalla was much quicker. She caught Tails by the arm, and formed a force field around them. She laughed as she held Tail's limp body in her arms.

"Too bad, guys." She sneered. "Looks like you need to get your friend back."

"I'm coming, Tails!" Sonic yelled. Knuckles managed to stop his Speeder, and grab Sonic's shoulders.

"Sonniku, don't!" he shouted. "You won't be able to get past the sheild!"

"But I gotta save Tails!" Sonic yelled.

"Metalla won't hurt him, Sonniku. She's after you, not him."

"Tails is in trouble!" Sonic despretly explained. "He'd try to save me too."

"Yes, but there's no way to save him now." Knuckles calmly explained. "We'll come back to save him later." Just as he spoke, Metalla warped and vanished.

"TAILS!" Sonic gave one last cry. He hung his head, and sat back in his seat. "Maybe you're right. Let's go."

"We need to regroup." Knuckles explained, heading for the Warp Zone out of Eggman territory. "And I know just the guys to help us out."

"I'm coming back for you, Tails." Sonic vowed under his breath. "And Metalla will pay for kidnapping you. Just wait and see." Then, the Warp Zone sucked them back to the Dark World.

__

Good thing Robotnic wasn't carefull about where he keeps the extra data CD's. A mysterious figure held up a small CD, and fed it into a slot. His programming software clicked and wrrred to life, and a Sonic-like robot was seen in an energizing bed. The figure loomed over it. _Excelent, now Robotnic is about to get a taste of his own medician just as soon as my 'creation' is completed._

WHO IS THAT I SENCE? A message scrolled across a nearby computer screen. The way a non-activated robot can talk out loud.

"I am your master, my creation. I have many tasks for you just as soon as I activate you in a few hours."

MY MASTER? I HAVE NO MASTER.__

"You do now. And you will serve me."

I HAVE MY MEMORIES BACK NOW! I DIED MASTERLESS! I VOWED THAT ROBOTNIC WOULD NEVER BE MY MASTER ANYMORE, AND I WOULD NEVER HAVE ANY MASTER! I AM FREE!

"You work for me now. That is the way things will be from now on. Now," the mysterious figure began. "Tell me your name."

My name? My name…is metalla!

To be continued!


	2. Ambush on Jade Island

THE METALLA SERIES

All Sonic Anime Characters are © TAKI

Carlu "Kick", Metalla2, Metalla3, Akira and Seven, and Mika are © me, Masquerade

Used without permission, okay?

Now on with the show!

Sonic, Knuckles, and Knuckles girlfriend, Carlu, were sitting around the kitchen table of Sonic's house. Carlu had been picked up from Meta Jungula after Knuckles and Sonic got out of the Dark World. She was extremely upset at the news of one of her best buddies, Tails, was trapped in Eggman Land by Model2 Metalla, Sonic's newest threat. Knuckles reclined in his chair, and tipped his hat back slightly. When he tipped his hat slightly on his head, that usually meant that he had an idea.

"I have these friends back on Jade Island…" Knuckles began. "They're lowlifes, but they know about weapons, and how to use them. They're real tough, and I think they can stand up against the second Metalla."

"Are you sure?" Carlu asked, setting her coffee mug down. "Who are they, I might have heard of them if they came from Jade Island."

"My best friends: Akkar and Seven, bounty hunters." Knuckles explained.

"Oh, no." Sonic shook his head. "I want nothing to do with bounty hunters. I've had several bad encounters with those."

"These guys you'll like, you can bet on that." Knuckles assured.

"No way, Knuckelzu." Carlu shook her head as well. "I'm not going up with bounty hunting scum, even if they're your friends."

"You can trust them." Knuckles claimed, taking his coffee over to the nearest sink. "If they're my friends, then they're one of the good guys."

"Nice theory, Knux." Carlu flatly and sarcastically said, pushing back her French braid from her shoulder. "However, since you're a former agent of the Superior Service, that isn't exactly true."

"Hey, guys." Sonic stopped the conversation from heading in the wrong direction. "Let's remember that Metalla2 took Tails into Eggman Land with her. Let's concentrate on that."

"Here's what I had planned." Knuckles proposed. "We go see Akkar and Seven on Jade Island, see if they can help us, and take them with us."

"Sounds like a plan, Stan." Sonic nodded, holding out his hand for the usual high-five. Knuckles high-fived Sonic, Sonic high-fived Knuckles, and they poked each other's elbows. Carlu smiled at the friendship gesture, and got up from the table where they were sitting.

"Fine with me. Let's go see if these guys can help us." She announced.

"I'll go warm up the Speeder." Knuckles suggested, going outside.

Pt. 1 of 4: Ambush on Jade Island

Tails found himself back in the laboratory where he, Sonic, and Knuckles ventured just minutes before. He looked around, seeing that the energy beds that he had ripped the cords off were empty. The robots inside had been killed from power loss. Tails remembered how proud Sonic was of him.

Suddenly, Metalla2 stepped into the room with the bloated terror himself right behind her: Robotnic. Metalla2 appeared to have clothes on her, and they were the latest fashion in South Island. She looked pretty good in them, but what was she going to do in that? Metalla pointed at Tails, and said something quietly to Robotnic. He nodded, and stayed out of her way. Metalla looked back at Tails.

"You cute little pest..." Metalla began. "You have no idea of the danger your friends are in. Just because I was only able to capture you, I'll be nice enough to give you a preview."

"It takes more than a robot in clothes to stop Sonic." Tails defended. "He's been through worse." Metalla laughed, and her blood red eyes glowed with glee.

"Sonic is definantly going to meet his match. Watch this!" She spread out her arms to her sides, and suddenly skin appeared over her metallic covering. She grew dark gold hair, and her eyes changed from red to blue, and her body was reshaped to that of a human. Tails gasped at the hauntingly beautiful woman that the robot turned into. The disguise was absolutely flawless. Robotnic laughed triumphantly.

"As you can see, Tails." Robotnic began. "This new model of Metalla can disguise herself as a regular person, causing Sonic to believe that there is no danger present. He'll never know that it's actually the robot trying to kill him."

"Sonic is smart enough to see through that." Tails defended, outraged that they would underestimate Sonic's knowledge. "None of your tricks can fool him, even a good one."

"Ha, I laugh." Metalla doubted. "I have everything I need to fool Sonic: beauty, charm, cunning, a sparkling personality, and knowledge of his only weakness: irresistible women." Tails was absolutely outraged now.

"THAT'S NOT LIKE SONIC AT ALL, YOU JERK! HE'LL NEVER FALL FOR YOUR TRAP!"

"Oh yeah? Well, according to Sonic's memories, he went 'gaga' when he first met Sera. So, he should act no differently to me."

"Even I must admit," Robotnic said to Tails, putting a hand on Metalla's shoulder, "She has everything I want in a Metalla: loyalty and determination, unlike Metalla1, who no longer had any of that in his last moments."

"I need to go now." Metalla announced gently pushing Robotnic's hand off her shoulder with a finger. "My audience awaits." She walked off, giving Tails an evil smile and a wink before walking out of the hall. 

"I think Sonic will fall for Metalla's trap, Tails." Robotnic smiled. "She is much smarter than Metalla1, and will succeed."

"NO SHE WON'T!" Tails yelled, struggling against his bindings. "SONIC WILL NEVER BE FOOLED BY THAT WITCH!"

"When Metalla drags Sonic back here, we'll see who was right, and who was wrong." Robotnic laughed, walking down the hall as well. Tails started to cry when Robotnic left. He needed to warn Sonic about Metalla, but how? Would Sonic fall for her trap?

Sonic and Carlu relaxed in the back seats of Knuckle's Speeder. Carlu watched the clouds pass by them. She had some very bad experiences in Jade Island, and she just hoped that being with Sonic and Knuckles would make the border patrol shut up and let her get on with her day. After all, she wasn't by herself now, and she wasn't coming to see her family like she always was. 

"Think they'll let me on the island, Knuckelzu?" Carlu asked. "They always arrested me on sight."

"Not as long as I'm around, baby." Knuckles assured. "I used to have a position in echidna society."

__

Yeah, as an international spy. Carlu wanted to say, but she better keep her mouth shut if she didn't want the engagement to be called off. Oh well, if he was certain of himself then there was nothing to worry about.

"What position?" Sonic asked. "A high one? Sure sounds like it by your confidence."

"Well…" Knuckles began, looking out the windshield. "I'll explain later, there's Jade up ahead." Carlu peered through the windshield. She could barely see it through all the clouds.

"Roll the top down." Carlu insisted. "I can't see it."

"Not unless you want a face full of strong wind." Knuckles shook his head. "Keep your fingers crossed, Kick. We're landing." Carlu crossed everything she could: all her fingers, all her toes, and even her eyes. She was going back on that island, no matter what.

They're headed for Jade. Gotta catch up to them. He'll fall for my trap, I know he will.

Deep in a hidden fortress on the Dark World, a mysterious man walked into his robotics laboratory with a heavy stomp. _Grrrrrr,_ he thought. _That's the last model Robotnic will ever steal from me. This is the last straw! Metalla is coming out now!_

"Metalla!" the man called to a power bed with the model in it. "Whether you like it or not, you're coming out!"

Can't make me!

"I am your master, and you will do what I say."

I keep telling you, I don't have a master.

"Smart ass robot." The man mumbled, taking the cover of the power bed off. Metalla's eyes flashed red. He was very angry.

Touch me and I'll rip your arm off!

"What is your name?" the man asked.

I am Metalla. Who the hell are you?

"Who do you work for?"

I work for just one person: me.

"That is incorrect. You work for me."

I don't work for anybody, understand?

"GET OUT OF THERE!"

OKAY, I WILL…AND MAYBE I'LL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT WHILE I'M AT IT.

Suddenly, Metalla burst from the power bed, and lunged for the man. Metalla held the man in the air by the throat for a few minutes. When the man passed out, Metalla dropped him on the ground. Then, he left the building.

Darnit! My original programming is gone! Oh well, at least I'm free, just the way I want it. Now, where is the one named Sonic? Now that I'm up and kicking again, I'm gonna start with his...

"…But she's with me!" Knuckles explained to the border patrol officer. He just shook his head.

"Sorry, but she's not authorized on this island." The officer explained. "Governor's orders."

"Hell with the Governor!" Carlu exploded. "I lived on this island for years! I can't believe you won't let me on my own island!"

"I've heard that one a million times from you, Carlu." The officer dryly said. "There is no way you are getting back on this island."

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! I DEMAND JUSTACE!"

"I demand you leave before you get arrested." The officer snapped.

"For what?" Sonic joined in. "Coming home?"

"Defiance. She's disobeying perfectly clear orders." 

"You're orders aren't clear to me at all!" Carlu snapped back.

"Excuse me!" a new voice came in. "Is there a reason why there's a long line in customs?" It was an echidna dressed in dark, rich robes. He looked rather upset, and had his arms crossed impatiently. The officers knees knocked, then he saluted.

"Prince Mamoru!" he exclaimed. "This is…is just a minor problem."

"Not by the volume of voices I could hear all the way in the back. What is this minor problem, I wish to know?" the prince demanded.

"Your Highness," Knuckles explained, a little casual. "This young lady I'm with has been restricted from entering this island, and she doesn't deserve it. She lives here."

"Is that so?" the prince nodded. "Kind sir, I want you to see that this young lady and her party are guided through that gate." The officer's eyes widened.

"But, my prince…"

"No buts. That's an order." The Prince issued. "Now let them pass."

"Yes sir." The officer hung his head, and let each of them pass. The prince was right behind them.

"Hey, what are your names?" he asked. "This young lady has guts standing up to border patrol."

"Oh." Sonic gasped. "I'm actually the leader of the group. My name is Sonic. This is Knuckelzu, and his fiancé, Carlu." Carlu bowed as the Prince shook Sonic's hand.

"The legendary Sonic the Hedgehog, I presume." The prince smiled. "I've always wanted to meet you." He shook Carlu's hand, and looked at Knuckles for a while. Suddenly, the prince reached out and ruffled Knuckles hair. "Good to see you again, son." He said, then started to walk off. "Well, I better be on my way. Sionara." As he left, Sonic and Carlu stared at Knuckles intensely.

"Does he know you?" Sonic asked.

"Of course he knows me." Knuckles smiled. "He's my father."

"WHAT?!" Sonic and Carlu jaws dropped to the ground. Carlu made a strange face.

"Oh, you're just full of surprises today, aren't you?" she interrogated. Knuckles tipped his hat, and started walking down the street.

"Let's go." He suggested. "Akkar and Seven should be around here somewhere."

"Okay." Sonic agreed. "Let's go." 

Okay, there they are. They're headed into that cantina. Time to strut my stuff.

"Pee you!" Sonic almost shouted. "What is that smell?"

"Hooka smoke." Knuckles answered. Sonic plugged his nose. "You'll get used to it in a few minutes max, Sonniku. Now come on, they're around here somewhere." Knuckles scanned the crowd for the familiar faces. Carlu did the same. Sonic just held his nose until he couldn't breathe, and had to let it go.

"Is that them over there?" Carlu asked, pointing to an echidna and a lion cub dressed in leathers. Knuckles looked over at them, and his eyes lit up.

"Yes, that's them." He nodded as Sonic was making faces after inhaling the air.

"I'm gonna puke." He moaned. Knuckles and Carlu ignored him, and walked up to the booth where the bounty hunters were sitting and talking. Knuckles walked up to them and pounded his fist on the table, smirking.

"Good afternoon, can I take your order?" Knuckles said. The echidna and the cub laughed, and patted Knuckles shoulder.

"Good to see you again, Knuckelzu." The echidna laughed.

"Whaz up, bro?" the cub smiled.

"Mind if I sit down?" Knuckles asked, sitting down anyway. Sonic and Carlu slipped past the crowd in the cantina, and up to the booth. The echidna held his hand in front of Sonic, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead.

"Wait, wait, don't tell me: Sonic the hedgehog." The echidna predicted. "Am I right, or am I right?!"

"Who are you?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Sonic," Knuckles began, "these are the guys I was talking about." He pointed at the echidna, who had the deepest red skin an echidna could have, and looked about twenty-seven or older. "This is Akkar 'Sykes,' " then he pointed to the lion cub, who had a buzz cut and a healthy red scar on his face. He looked about thirteen years old. "And that's Seven 'Seits.' These are the bounty hunters I said that could help us out."

"How could we help you?" Akkar asked.

"Well," Sonic began, sitting. "You've heard about Metalla, right?"

"Yeah," Seven nodded. "They're still rebuilding South Island last I heard."

"Well," Sonic said. "Robotnic made another one." Akkar and Seven sat up much straighter.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"Yep." Carlu nodded, still standing since there wasn't any room left to sit. "That's what I heard." Seven looked strangely at her. "Sorry, my name is Carlu, and I'm…"

"I know who you are." Seven snapped. "I was just wondering what you're doing here. I thought you were forbidden to come back to this island."

"Hmph." Carlu grunted. "Nice hair." She commented Seven's mane. "It would have made a great belt."

"That knot on your head would look nice on my trophy hook." Seven snarled.

"Seven," Akkar scolded. "Leave the lady alone. She got lucky getting past the border patrol by that scowl on her face." Seven just stared at her like he was going to eat her whole. Carlu kept her hand on her two bladed axe strapped to her belt.

"Anyway," Knuckles came back to the subject, "Sonic and I were wondering if we could get your help with this second Metalla."

"Why?" Akkar asked. "Is he after one of you?"

"She, actually." Sonic corrected. "Yeah, she's out to get me. Plus, she's holding my best friend captive. He's just a kid, and I need to get him back."

"Sure." The echidna nodded. "We'll help you out."

"You bet." Seven gave Sonic a thumbs up.

"Hey, let's quit the business talk, and do something else. So, Knuckelzu, what have you been up to?" Akkar asked.

Metalla flicked a golden bang from her eyes, and looked about the cantina. Sonic and his friends were in here somewhere, they had to be. She's been looking around the city for several hours, and no go. So, they had to be in here. She stood in the doorway for a few minutes, studying the crowd. Then, she saw Sonic and his friends with a bounty-hunting duo. Smiling, Metalla made her way towards the booth. She warmed up her laser turrets, and licked her lips. This was it. 'Too bad that he just made some new friends.' Metalla thought. 'He won't ever get to see them again.' She moved in a little closer, pointing her wrist at Sonic's head, and aimed carefully. Suddenly…

BANG! Mika slammed into a human. "Hey," Mika snapped. "Watch where you're going, blondy."

"Well, excuuuuuuuuuse me!" the human snapped back. "Maybe you should watch where you were going!"

"Don't yell at me!"

"Well, you started it!"

"Don't make me mad!"

"Same here, you walking pin cushion!" Mika, who was a chocolate brown hedgehog, narrowed her eyes, and brandished a gun in her knee length boots.

"Watch you're racist tongue, or you'll miss it." She growled. Metalla snorted, and exposed her turrets from under her skin, and fired at Mika.

CHOOME! CHOOME! Both shots hit Mika square in the chest, and she fell over. By that time, Sonic was at the scene. He stopped short at the sight of the pretty blond human. Metalla quickly straitened up, and shook some extra hair back over her shoulder.

"Whoa." Sonic raised an eyebrow. He slicked his spines back, and " played it cool." "So, who may you be?"

"You're worst nightmare." Metalla sneered. She pointed her laser turret at Sonic's head, and charged it. Sonic looked rather confused. Suddenly, a laser shot zoomed inches away from Sonic's ear, and another one he just managed to dodge. Knuckles leaped into action, and grabbed Metalla's wrist.

"Oh no you don't, robot." Knuckles yelled. Metalla and Knuckles wrestled for a long while as Akkar, Seven, and Carlu helped to sneak an absolutely confused Sonic out of the cantina. "Hey, wait for me!" Knuckles called, seeing them leave. He let go of Metalla's wrists and ran outside faster than Metalla could blink. Mika watched as Metalla left calmly. Mika cocked an eyebrow, and got up off the floor.

"Hurry!" Seven yelled, looking over his shoulder as he ran. "I think she might be behind us!"

"What gave you that idea?" Knuckles asked.

CHOOME! CHOOME! CHOOME!

"That, mostly." Seven frowned, seeing that many of the shots missed them by a mile. "She really needs to work on her marksmanship." Suddenly, Metalla2 in robot form rocketed from behind them, and threw something at them. Akkar caught it, screamed, and threw it behind him.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!

"Grenade." Akkar explained. "She's got a good arm."

"If only she had better aim." Knuckles smirked, and looked up at Metalla2. She dived for Sonic, and kicked him in the head, sending him skidding to the nearest building. Akkar pulled out his handgun, and fired at Metalla's head. She dropped to the ground, and got right back up. She laughed, tracing the three bullet holes in her head.

"Just gives me character." She smirked, and launched another grenade. It flew in Sonic's direction.

"Sonic!" Seven shouted, running after the grenade. He pulled out his pocket gun, and shot the grenade in mid flight. The grenade exploded before it could hit Sonic. "So much for that." He pointed his gun at Metalla2, who was going for Sonic herself. "There's only one way to Sonic, baby, and that's through me!" Seven shouted at her. Metalla2 just kicked Seven away, and went on her way.

"Ha ha!" she laughed slightly, flexing her metal claws, fixing her eyes on Sonic's throat. "Bye bye windpipe."

Suddenly…

ZAT! ZAT! ZAT! Laser fire hit Metalla square in the rocket boosters in her boots. She skidded to a stop just a few meters away from Sonic. Sonic lifted his head to see the hedgehog girl from the cantina approaching Metalla2 slowly, with a gun in hand.

"I warned you." She said, putting her boot on Metalla2's back. "Don't make me mad, and look what you did: I'm out of breath from running after you, I had trouble with the authorities just to keep chasing you, and, of all catastrophes in the world, I broke a nail in the process. You piece of shoota, you're gonna pay."

"Who are you?" Sonic asked. The hedgehog turned to him.

"I'm Mika, a smuggler from South Island. You, my friend, must be Sonic the hedgehog."

"Yes." Sonic said, getting up slowly. "Hey, thanks for helping me out."

"Well, she shot me." Mika explained. "Besides, an enemy of Robotnic's is a friend of mine."

"You must have a lot of friends." Sonic smirked, giving her a wink. Mika giggled.

"Hey, Romeo!" Knuckles yelled to Sonic. "We gotta get Tails, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that's right." Sonic snapped his fingers. He walked up to Metalla2, who had trouble getting up, because Mika was standing on her. Sonic stooped down so that he was looking at her face. "Where's Tails, Metalla?" he interrogated. Metalla just gave him the finger. Sonic kicked her in the head. "I asked you a question."

"You dummy," Metalla snapped. "He's right where you left him: in Eggman Land. Robotnic should be keeping an eye on him, and you'll have great difficulty going back."

"Why is that?" Mika joined the interrogation.

"Hahahahahahahahaa!" Metalla laughed. "Robotnic takes precautions. Back in Eggman Land, there should be another Metalla waiting for you. I may have failed, so I've got a back up."

"NOT ANOTHER METALLA!" Sonic and Knuckles shouted.

"Oh yes; another Metalla." Metalla2 cackled. "There will be more and more until Mobius is finally rid of you."

"I can face twenty Metallas." Sonic boasted. "I'll fight as many as it takes until Mobius is free."

"Let her go, Sonic." Knuckles said. "She told us what we need to know. She can leave now." Mika nodded, and stepped off Metalla2's back.

"See you in Eggman Land!" Metalla2 winked as she warped away. Knuckles motioned with his hand that they should leave.

"Sonic, Carlu, Akkar, Seven…let's go." He insisted.

"Hey, I want to come too." Mika insisted. "I want to help."

"Okay," Sonic agreed. "You can come. Let's get to our Speeders. We don't have much time. I just hope Tails is okay." 

As Sonic and his friends left Jade Island, they didn't notice the original Metalla watching them leave. He watched them fly off to the portal to the Dark World, and he warped after them.

To be continued! (Cue "Look Alike")


	3. Metalla Times Four

THE METALLA SERIES

All Sonic Anime related characters are © SEGA and TAKI

Carlu "Kick", Akkar and Seven, Metalla2, Metalla3, and Metalla4, are all © me, Masquerade

Used without permission, as usual.

Lights, camera, action!

Three speeders zoomed over Dark World towards Eggman Land, the site of the captured fox, Tails. One of these Speeders held Sonic the hedgehog, and his friends: Knuckles, and Knuckles girlfriend, Carlu. The second Speeder had Knuckles two best friends as crew: Akkar "Sykes" the echidna, and Seven "Seits" the lion cub. The third was piloted by Sonic's newest friend, Mika, a hedgehog. Behind them, staying out of scanner range was the original Metalla, the robotic clone of Sonic made by Robotnic's genius. Metalla followed the unwary travelers to their destination.

Inside Speeder number one, Sonic lounged in the passenger seat, and looked at Knuckles in the pilot's chair. "There's something I want made clear, Knux." Sonic said.

"Yeah?" Knuckles asked, watching the steady horizon.

"You said that Prince Mamoru of Royal Island is your father." Sonic began. "Doesn't that make you royalty too?"

"Sure does." Knuckles nodded, not taking his eyes off the windshield.

"So, how come you aren't sitting on a throne, wearing a crown, or that sort of thing?" Carlu asked.

"I didn't want it." Knuckles explained. "I'm not the kind of person that likes to sit around all day. Besides, I really do not like my dad at all."

"How come?" Sonic asked.

"Well," Knuckles began. "My dad wanted me to be just like him: make decisions, go on diplomatic missions, sign treaties, wear a crown with pride…that sort of thing. That was basically my entire life planned out for me. I couldn't make my own individual decisions; I didn't even get to decide who I could get married to. Bull shit. So I left, doing something I could stand: hunting for treasures."

"Specifically the Master Silver Emerald." Carlu added to Sonic. Then, to Knuckles: "Any luck on finding it lately?"

"No." Knuckles shook his head. "I am working on it, however."

"Do your friends know that you're really a prince?" Sonic smirked.

"Sure." Knuckles nodded. "They could just care less, that's all."

"Oh."

Knuckles looked at his instruments carefully. He nodded at them. "We're coming up on Eggman Land. Everybody ready?" Carlu took out her two bladed axe, and ran her hand over the black handle.

"You know I'm ready." She smiled. Sonic took off his seat belt, and cracked his knuckles.

"Ready for anything." Sonic said, giving the thumbs up. Knuckles turned on the ship radio, and asked if everyone was ready for Eggman Land.

"Metalla2 and 3 are waiting for us." Akkar said. "I'll bet you my Speeder that we're more ready than they are." He turned to Seven. "How about you, Seits?"

"There is no 'ready.' " Seven smiled, crossing his arms.

"Never readier in my life." Mika radioed. "Let's move out." She took the lead as Eggman Land came into sight. Suddenly, a shot rang out, and Mika's Speeder rocked from the impact. Her sensors showed that a couple of robots were coming their way. "Metalla2 and 3 are attacking. Get ready for impact, guys."

Metalla watched in absolute horror as two robots that were similar to him started attacking the lead Speeder, hoping that Sonic was in it. The robots were duplicates of him, and they had to go. He powered his boosters, and rocketed foreword. Those two, and Robotnic, were going to pay…big time!

Pt. 3 of 4: Metalla Times Four

Knuckles steered past Metalla2, and got a good look at Metalla3. Number three looked no different from number one; there was almost no difference in style of attack either. Number three mostly attacked directly rather than snuck up on his targets. He directly attacked Knuckle's Speeder, and it rocked on impact. Carlu and Sonic almost fell out of their seats. Knuckles steered carefully and tried to evade Metalla3. However, Metalla3 was certain that Knuckles Speeder was the one with Sonic in it.

BANG! Metalla3 rammed into the Speeder. This time, Sonic landed flat on his face. Knuckles looked over at the hedgehog. "Wear your seatbelt!" Knuckles snapped. "What if we crash?"

"We won't crash." Sonic assured. Then, Metalla3 crashed against the Speeder again.

BANG! Several of the instruments shut down, and the Speeder was still. "Uh oh." Knuckles muttered. "Speeders been sabotaged." He turned to Sonic. "Our only option now is to bail out before we crash." Sonic looked very surprised. "What are you waiting for?" Knuckles asked, taking off his seat belt. "Let's go!" The speeder door opened, and Knuckles shooed Carlu and Sonic out of the door to a thirty-foot drop. They landed, then ran for their lives as the two Metallas started chasing them. Knuckles took up the rear, and tried getting in the way of Metalla2's laser fire. Suddenly, he got shot in the shoulder, and fell over. Carlu stopped and went back, panic-stricken.

"KNUCKELZU!" she screamed. Knuckles held out his hand, trying to get her to stop.

"No." he ordered. "Keep going! Sonic needs to get to Eggman Land! I'll be fine." Carlu started to cry.

"I love you!" she exclaimed, running to catch up with Sonic. Metalla2 and 3 flew after Carlu and Sonic.

****

"Let him go." Metalla2 told her new counterpart. **"He's not important. Go get Sonic!"** Carlu took out her two-bladed axe, and caught up with Sonic.

"I feel real bad about leaving him behind." Carlu said as she ran. Sonic nodded.

"Me too, but there's more important things to worry about right now, and they're catching up!" Sonic pointed up to the sky. Metalla2 fired a grenade in front of Sonic. Sonic managed to jump away as it exploded on impact. Carlu grabbed Sonic's shoulders, and clung for dear life as Sonic ran as fast as he could. Metalla2 fired her lasers again, still missed, but were a little too close for comfort for Sonic. Suddenly, Metalla3 rammed into Carlu, and the impact knocked Sonic over on his back. Metalla3 hovered over Sonic for a moment, looking at him. Metalla2 crossed her arms, and her eyes glowed super red.

****

"C'mon!" she snapped. **"Kill him already! I'm waiting!"**

"Yeah, yeah." Metalla3 dismissed, "I'm getting to it!"

Suddenly, a blue blur rammed into Metalla3, then punched Metalla2 in the kisser.

"What the heck?" Sonic and Carlu said at the same time. Then, they saw him! He was hovering a few feet over the fallen robots, and he was giving Sonic a good long look.

****

"Hello." He said after a while. **"Looks like you and your friend could use a hand."**

"METALLA!" Sonic screamed as the robot landed by Sonic and helped him up.

****

"The one and only." He nodded. Then he noticed that Carlu was brandishing her axe, and Sonic took a battle stance. **"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you this time."**

"HUH?" Sonic looked absolutely confused. Metalla crossed his arms.

****

"My original programming has been erased by that jerk that calls himself..." Suddenly, he was interrupted by Knuckles, who was being carried by Akkar and Mika. Seven was right behind them.

"Metalla? But…you're dead." Knuckles shouted.

****

"All will be explained later." Metalla insisted. **"I believe Tails is in terrible danger. Why don't we all head into Eggman Land, and find him, shall we?"**

"I was rebuilt by a human from the Dark World named Hydra. My memories were restored, even my private last request that I would never again have a master of any kind. He wanted me operational, and to be used against Robotnic."

"Hydra." Knuckles snarled. "That snake!"

"You know him?" Sonic asked as the party flew into Eggman Land. Sonic was holding onto Knuckles's hand while Knuckles, Carlu, and Akkar flew on their own, Seven was riding in Akkar's arms, and Mika was holding Metalla's hands as he flew. Knuckles growled at the thought of the one named Hydra.

"Yeah, I know Hydra. When I was a kid, he stole a family heirloom straight from the Royal Palace: the Master Silver Emerald. He lost it in a fight with my dad, and I've been trying to find it since. Hydra's a piece of trash."

****

"You go, boy!" Metalla nodded at Knuckles. **"Hydra and Robotnic defenantly hate each other. Both are rivals that steal each other's robot designs. That was how I came back."**

"But the data to make another Metalla was destroyed." Sonic explained.

****

"I know." Metalla nodded. **"I still don't know how Robotnic could make two more copies of me, let alone how Hydra could get data to create me."**

"So, you can't hurt Sonic anymore, right?" Akkar asked.

****

"Only if I want to." Metalla explained."I still hate his guts, but I need his help."

"My help? What for?" Sonic asked, suspiciously.

****

"Help me get my true freedom."

All was silent for a moment.

****

"What am I saying? It's impossible!"

"I'll see what I can do." Sonic answered, still suspicious. "So, you aren't gonna destroy the world or anything like that, are you?"

****

"No. My original programming has been erased, remember? I can't take orders from Robotnic anymore, and why would I destroy the very planet I live on?"

"Point well made." Mika nodded. She looked ahead, and Eggman Land, the city of robots came into full view. "City ahoy."

"We see it, babe." Seven said, pulling out his gun. "Alright, time to kick some Robo-butt!" Metalla couldn't help but laugh.

****

"That would take all of our feet, wouldn't it?" he smirked. Everybody laughed.

"Nice joke." Mika complemented her transportation, who was still chuckling from his remark.

****

"I try." He admitted.

****

"Hey! They're headed into Eggman Land! We gotta stop them!"

"Hold your horses, number three. Robotnic's been waiting for them. He has a Black Robotnic transportation unit in there. All of them put together couldn't stop him."

"One of you wouldn't be my Metalla, would you?" the robots turned to see a cloaked figure walking towards them.

****

"Your Metalla? All Metalla's belong to Robotnic, you dummy."

"Do they?" the cloak asked, holding up a remote control. "Well then, I guess that this is necessary." He pushed a button, and the two Metalla's doubled over, and collapsed. The figure took off his hood, revealing his short black hair and one eye patch. He looked at the two Metalla's for a while. "No. None of them are Metalla1. Aw, damn." He looked out at Eggman Land. "Maybe Robotnic already brainwashed him. Wouldn't hurt to check."

Sonic and the gang found Robotnic in a huge armored transport that looked like Black Robotnic. Sonic's friends landed on the ground, and Sonic pointed up at Robotnic.

"Yo, slo-mo!" Sonic yelled. Robotnic turned to look at him. "Where's Tails?"

"Ho ho ho ho!" Robotnic laughed. "What a joke! You call that little army a threat?" In response to that, Sonic's friends spoke one at a time.

Knuckles: "Joke? The only joke I see is you."

Carlu: "We're here to finish what we started a year ago."

Akkar: "We're gonna chew you up…"

Seven: "…and spit you out!"

Mika: "It takes more that your past mistakes to hold back a hedgehog."

Metalla: **"And I'm living proof."**

Sonic: "Games up, Robotnic. Now give Tails back, or else."

"Or else what?" Robotnic laughed. "Some nice speeches, kids. However, it'll take more than a bunch of teenagers to stop me!"

****

"C'mon, Sonic." Metalla urged. **"Time to shut down Robotnic's shop!"**

"Yeah," Sonic agreed. "For good."

Metalla grabbed Sonic's arm, and flew up to the Black Robotnic model. Metalla flung Sonic at it, and Sonic did a Spin Jump through the machine's chestplate. Then, Sonic propelled himself back to saw the machine in half like he did before, when suddenly…

****

"Games up, Sonniku!" Metalla2 yelled, grabbing Sonic's legs, and throwing him to the ground. Knuckles caught him before Sonic made fast friends with the concrete. Metalla2 made a fist as Metalla3 zoomed in to finish the job. Knuckles maneuvered quickly to elude the robot, but Metalla3 was too fast. Metalla3 gave Knuckles a hard jump kick in the head, and the echidna toppled to the ground, taking the impact of the hit instead of Sonic.

"You piece of junk!" Seven yelled, jumping up at the robot, and giving it a bullet to the head. It staggered in the air from the impact, then lashed out at Seven, and sent him to the ground.

****

"Don't worry about it." Metalla2 told her counterpart, pointing at her own bullet holes. **"Gives ya character."** Metalla3 nodded, then went to find Sonic. While Metalla2 checked number three's progress, she noticed that some of Sonic's friends were missing. **"Strange. There was a party of seven, how come I see only five?"**

"Do you see him?" Mika asked Carlu. Both girls were wandering around Robotnic's fortress looking for Tails. Carlu looked around.

"No. Not yet." Carlu shook her head. "But he's here someplace. He's got to be." Carlu and Mika were lucky to get past the two Metalla's and Robotnic, and they just had to find Tails. 

Finally, they entered the lab. Hundreds and hundreds of robots were stacked in piles in one corner, and so were some power beds. Mika found Metalla2 and 3's beds, read the inscriptions, and bit her lip.

"So, that's what they were made for." She whispered in almost absolute horror.

"Yeah, pretty much." Carlu nodded. "C'mon. I just know Tails is up here somewhere. I've got a feeling that he is." Mika rejoined Carlu on her search until they heard a little whimpering noise. "IT'S TAILS!" Carlu gasped. She ran to the far edge of the lab, and found the little fox all tied and gagged in a corner. "Tails, it's me! It's Carlu." Tails looked into the familiar eyes of Knuckle's friend, and calmed. "C'mon," the echidna urged. "Let's go. Sonic needs your help."

****

"How dare you look like me!" Metalla yelled as he attacked Metalla2. Metalla2 just dodged his every attack.

****

"Oh please." She shook her head. **"The routine is old."**

"Seven!" Akkar yelled to his friend. "Look out!" Seven looked to see that Robotnic was aiming his built in machine gun at the lion cub. Seven jumped out of the way, pulling down an eyelid and sticking his tongue out at Robotnic.

"I eat fat guys like you for breakfast." Seven snickered. Robotnic growled as he fired his machine gun over and over, trying to hit the lion cub. Seven just laughed.

"Your aim is worse than Metalla2's!"

****

"HEY!" the robot yelled, overhearing. Off her guard, Metalla took the chance to knock her in the jaw with his kneecap.

Sonic, Knuckles, and Akkar had their hands full with Metalla3. The robot kept going after Sonic, but gunshots or punches from Knuckles kept him from reaching his target. Sonic mostly stood there, or tried to get out of Metalla3's way. Until Knuckles had Metalla3 in a chokehold, Sonic heard Seven cry out for help. Sonic saw that Seven's leg was shot, and Seven was desperately trying to get out of the way of the guns. Sonic didn't hesitate to take action, since Knuckles had his hands full.

Akkar was about to join Sonic when one of Metalla2's grenades slipped from her arm, and it landed by Akkar. The impact caused an explosion that knocked him unconscious. 

"AKKAR!" Knuckles yelled, and his attention wandered. Metalla3 broke free of Knuckles grip, and raced after Sonic. Sonic had his attention with Seven, so he didn't notice that Metalla3 was catching up with him…

****

"Almost…" Metalla3 urged himself. **"Almost…"** He reached out for Sonic's head. **"Ha ha!"** Suddenly, before he could maintain a grip…

BANG! A gunshot rang out, and Metalla3 fell to the ground as Sonic scooped Seven up in his arms, and ran to safety.

****

"WHAT?!?!!!!!!!" Metalla2 exclaimed. **"How could this be? Metalla3 is...is..."**

"…Scrap metal." A voice completed her sentence. It was Mika, with Carlu and Tails to back her up. Mika blew the smoke off her gun, then pointed it at Metalla2. "Games up, girlfriend."

"Leave Sonic and his friends alone!" Tails demanded, pointing up at Metalla2. Metalla2 could only laugh.

****

"Sorry, but that's my main programming." She pointed her laser turret at Tails, then was rammed by Metalla. She fell over to the ground, and stayed there. Metalla hovered over her again, then motioned with his hand to the group of three that they should leave while opportunity knocked. Carlu agreed to that with her thumb, and took point.

****

"Have any of you seen Sonic?" Metalla asked them. Tails looked at Metalla with a bewildered look.

"No, unfortunately." Mika answered. "Not since we snuck into the fortress."

Robotnic fired another grenade at Sonic, who was running for dear life. Sonic was holding Seven like the cub was going to fall out of his arms. Suddenly, the grenade landed in front of Sonic, sending the poor hedgehog flying towards Robotnic. Sonic skidded on the ground on his back, and accidentally let go of the unconscious cub. Sonic was just two meters away from Seven's body. Before he could stand up, Metalla2 grabbed Seven by the nape of the neck, and cradled him in her arms. Sonic stared up angrily at Metalla2.

"HEY! BRING HIM BACK!" Sonic shouted. Metalla shook her head, very amused. "HEY! COME BACK!" Sonic yelled as Metalla2 warped away. "SEVEN!" Robotnic laughed, and started walking away.

"Now I see what Metalla's plan is." He said, very proud of his robot. "We'll meet again Sonic, and next time, you and your friends won't survive!" With a final laugh, he used his large robot to walk away. Sonic picked himself off the ground, and watched Robotnic leave, too injured to do anything. Metalla and Mika came to help him up. Sonic just stared where Robotnic vanished.

"Seven's been captured." Sonic explained. "Robotnic mentioned having it to do with a plan or something."

****

"We'll get him back, and find out what that plan is in due time." Metalla explained. He put Sonic's arm over his shoulder. **"C'mon, let's go back home."**

"Yeah." Sonic moaned, walking the best he could. They all went back to the Speeders, and took off for Sonic's island, not realizing that they were being watched by a fourth Metalla. Also, they little realized that the fourth and final Metalla was a roboticized Seven, with no memories of his friends whatsoever.

To be continued (for the last time)!

(Cue "Look Alike!")


	4. The Last One Standing

THE METALLA SERIES

All Sonic Anime related characters are © SEGA and TAKI

Carlu "Kick," Akkar and Seven, Metallas 2, 3, and 4, and Hydra are © Masquerade (me!)

Used without permission, yeah yeah.

Okay, the final confrontation is about to begin. The desperate struggle, the strongest takes it all, the battle rages on until the weakest finally fall! (Sorry, I just think the song fits. : P) Okay, on with the fic!

"Oh, so this is where you live." Mika nodded at the abandoned airport that was Sonic's home.

"Yes, mam." Sonic said. "Damage is all repaired, no thanks to Metalla." The robot in question clenched a fist, and glared at Sonic.

"Oh, sure. Blame me for when I worked for the eggman. Some help you're going to be in the big battle."

"Guys, stop it." Carlu cut in. She got in-between Sonic and Metalla. "Okay, first things first: Metalla, Sonic, call a truce. We need to work together if we're going to fight Robotnic, alright?"

"Fine with me." Metalla agreed, sticking his hand out to Sonic. "No hard feelings?" Sonic sighed, and reached out to Metalla's hand.

"I guess so." Sonic grumbled, as Metalla clasped his hand over Sonic's and shook it. "Now that we got that over with," Sonic began, snapping his hand back, "what happens now?"

"Now," Carlu thought out loud, "I guess we think of a plan."

"Let's try to make it quick." Akkar urged. "Remember that Seven is back there, and I don't know what Metalla2's gonna do to him."

"Leave Metalla2 to me." Metalla insisted. "Then I'm gonna make Robotnic pay for making another copy of me."

"How 'bout we settle this in the morning?" Tails suggested, pointing at the setting sun. "I'm sleepy, and we have all tomorrow to plan."

"Good idea." Knuckles nodded. "Let's get some sleep first." Everyone nodded, deciding to call it the night, except for Mika, who decided to explore the island first. She went up to the tops of the cliffs, and looked out at the moon lit lake. A cold breeze blew against her face, relaxing her. She closed her eyes and breathed in deep. It was good to get away from the city once and a while.

"Hey up there!" Sonic called from below the cliff. "Mika?" Mika looked down to see Sonic looking up at her. "Mind if I come up?"

"Not at all!" she called back. Sonic ran up the side of the cliff, jumped off the edge and landed right behind Mika. Mika grabbed her chest. "Hey, I came up here to catch a breather, not to get all excited again."

"Sorry about that." Sonic apologized, sitting beside her. "Hey, how come you aren't asleep?"

"I've got too much on my mind." Mika admitted. "I just had to wonder…about my past."

"What about it?" Sonic asked. Mika sighed.

"I don't know anything about my past." She said, quietly. Sonic looked a little confused. "You see," Mika explained, "not too long ago, I woke up on the streets of Jade Island, with no memory of anything. I didn't know who I was, or where I came from, or what happened to me, but by the way I was thrown into the gutter, somebody had left me for dead. I staggered to the nearest police station, and they couldn't identify me. According to government files, I didn't exist. So, I wandered around until I got hooked up with a smuggler for a while, then I went into the smuggling business to keep what little money I had. I had just finished making my payments when I ran into you." Mika smiled. "I'm constantly wondering who I am, and who would leave me for dead." Sonic thought about this.

"Was this around the time Metalla attacked all the major cities on Heavenly World?" he asked.

"Huh?" Mika asked. Sonic snapped his fingers.

"That's it! Metalla must have attacked Jade Island, and you probably had a tussle with him."

"No." Mika shook her head. "I remember that. I woke up from the gutter a couple years ago."

"Oh." Sonic nodded. Mika looked out at the lake again, smiling at its beauty. Sonic noticed. "It's very pretty, isn't it? I used to come up here and watch the stars come out when I was a little kid." Mika looked over at Sonic.

"Okay, I told you my story, you tell me yours, Sonic." She suggested. "How did you get by in life?"

"Alright," Sonic thought for a minute. "Let's see…my parents died when I was about seven years old, and I've been here ever since." He pointed to the far end of the lake. "Right there. That's where I last saw them alive." He hung his head. "I got by, though. I found Tails right around where my parents died, and he's been hanging with me since. I taught him how to fly planes, and a little on how to repair them, and he couldn't get enough of technology since. He was always working on new inventions and stuff. We usually ran into Robotnic, and some of his badniks; the toughest one I ever fought was Metalla."

"The robot that's here with us?"

"Yep. Well, that's pretty much it."

"Any girlfriends?" Mika asked.

"Well, let's see…there was Sera, the President's daughter. I kinda liked her; she was full of spunk."

"What happened? Did you break up?"

"Nope." Sonic said. "We're still in touch."

"You talk like you're not." Mika smiled wickedly. Sonic rubbed his neck nervously.

"Wha-what do you mean by that?"

"Well, you're talking like she's just a thought in the past." She moved a little closer to him. "Are you sure she's your girlfriend still?"

"Heh heh, um…" Sonic broke out into a nervous sweat. "Well…um…uh…I guess she is…sorta…I think…hoo boy." Mika giggled.

"Well, I guess I'll call it the night now." She gave him a little kiss on the cheek, and left. Sonic was sweating from head to toe.

"I'm…I'm…YAHOO!" he shouted, jumping into the air. "I'M IN LOVE! I'M IN LOVE! I'M IN LOVE! I'M IN…OW!" Sonic yelped as a rock hit his head. He found Metalla hovering over him, looking a little mad.

"Do you mind?" the robot snapped. "People live here, you know."

Part 4 of 4: The Last One Standing

"You see, Robotnic..." Metalla2 began. "Metalla3 failed because he underestimated Sonic's friends. Well, Metalla4 won't make that mistake. Since he's the roboticized friend of Knuckelzu "Knuckles," he knows all about Sonic, and the friends he has. Now, we have the most dangerous robot known in Mobion history."

"An excellent strategy, Metalla2." Robotnic nodded when he saw Metalla4. Metalla4 was armored, and armed to the teeth with hidden weapons and sensors. He had rocket boosters on his back, and under his feet, and had razor sharp spikes on the back of his hands. His eyes glowed red, brighter than Metalla2's. Metalla2 laid a hand on Metalla4's shoulder. "Suppose that he starts regaining free will, like number one did…"

"Not a chance, doc." Metalla2 insured. "I will admit, Seven was stubborn to give up his free will to the roboticizer, but all memory of being on Sonic's side has been erased. Metalla4 won't develop a free will, or any of Sonic's personality, so that's not a problem." She patted Metalla4's shoulder, and the new model just crossed his arms. "This is the ultimate weapon, doc. There won't be anything else like it on the planet, ever again."

"Ah," a new figure spoke up. "Then this new model will belong to me." Robotnic and Metalla2 looked to see Hydra, in his steel armor was standing in the nearby doorway. Robotnic growled.

"Go away, Hydra. We aren't even talking about you." Hydra just laughed, and walked into the room.

"Maybe you should be." Hydra suggested, holding up a CD in his fingers. "Ha ha. Your latest bellboy is mine."

"Hey!" Robotnic yelled, jumping up and down in fury. "I worked long and hard on that model!"

"Now you know how I feel when you took my Buzz Bombers!" Hydra laughed. Suddenly, Metalla4 pointed his finger at it, and a laser shot zapped from it, and destroyed the disk. A shocked Hydra looked at Metalla4, who still had his finger pointed at him. Metalla2 took her turn to laugh.

"Sic 'em!" she ordered. Metalla4 charged, and his blades retracted from his wrists to the size of fingers. He shoved them into Hydra's chest. Hydra staggered, and fell over. Metalla4 hovered over him for a moment, then landed on his feet, and bowed swiftly to Robotnic. Robotnic clapped, and leaped for joy.

"Excellent! EXCELLENT, MY CREATION! Sonic and his friends are doomed!" Metalla2 looked at Robotnic angrily.

"Your creation? Excuse me, doc, but I came up with the idea!"

"It was my roboticizer you used!" Robotnic argued.

"I put the excesories on him!"

"Everything in my city is mine, Metalla2, including you." Robotnic glared. "So shut up, and do your job." He motioned with his hand for Metalla4 to follow him. "Come along, number four. You have much to show me." Metalla4 walked forward, and followed Robotnic to the laboratory. Metalla2 snorted as she watched them leave.

"Grrrrr, jerk!"

Early the next morning, Carlu walked out to the lake, and splashed her face. She'd been rubbing her eyes since she woke up, and it was amazing that she could barely get herself to wake up. She needed her strength for the battle to come. She took out her axe, and swung it a few times to stretch out her arms. Then, she closed her eyes for a second, and suddenly started swinging it threatenly into the air. Then, she ran around the sides of the cliffs, and jumped into a Sonic Spin with her axe posed in front of her. She looked like a red and silver buzz saw. After a few more seconds, she plowed the blade of the axe into the rock, and it sent her flying over the water like a rocket. She performed her Sonic Spin again, and the blade stuck into the rock on the other side of the lake, and Carlu ran back across the cliffsides, then flipped off the edge, and onto the beach below with a four point landing. She jumped for joy.

"YES! IT WORKED!" she celebrated. Then she turned around to see that most of the gang woke up too. Knuckles was smiling slyly, while everyone had shocked looks on their faces, especially Sonic and Metalla. Carlu cocked her eyebrows. "What? Why's everybody staring at me?"

"You used my moves!" Sonic and Metalla protested at the same time. Carlu twirled the axe handle in her hands, rather bored.

"Well, I learn from people, Sonic. That's how I get by." Suddenly, she laughed. "You two should have seen the looks on your faces. My God." Metalla crossed his arms.

"Really, the last thing we need is somebody who knows my moves." He scolded.

"Your moves?" Sonic glared. "Excuse me, but the Sonic Spin is my move."

"Well, I'm you. Why should it matter?"

"That's enough boys." Carlu ordered. "Look, we have important things to talk about today. Remember that Seven is still back in Eggman Land. How do we get him back, and destroy the second Metalla?" Everybody thought about this for a long time.

"Aw, heck." Akkar spat. "Why can't we just barge in there and get him back?"

"We did that before," Sonic and Metalla said at the same time. "And look what happened." Suddenly, they glared at each other and growled. "Why are you saying everything that I'm…STOP THAT!"

"Anyway," Knuckles came in. "Barging in hasn't helped in many cases. They'll expect a sneak attack…"

"Can't we just strike a deal with them?" Mika wondered out loud.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe we could call them up, and tell them to meet us someplace where we could have an advantage over them."

"No way." Metalla rejected. "Metalla2 will be smarter than that. If she's anything like me, then she can take any impossible situation to her advantage. She'll just think her way out."

"Grrrr." Mika growled, feeling a little dumb about her idea.

"Hey, wait." Tails waved his hands. "Maybe Mika's onto something."

"Huh?" Everyone asked.

"Well, we just say that we'll give Metalla2 what she requests, and we meet her on Royal Island. There's a huge army of echidnas there that can stop Metalla2."

"That could work." Knuckles thought. "Echidnas are pretty advanced in technology. We might have the right weapons."

"What could Metalla2 possibly want?" Sonic asked nobody in particular.

"Oh, I don't know..." Metalla said sarcastically, staring Sonic in the face. Sonic got the message in a Sonic second, but was a little more concerned of Metalla.

"Whoa! If looks could kill!" Sonic yelled. "Don't stare at me like that!"

"Why not?"

"Cut that out." Mika took command. "So, Metalla, you're trying to say that Sonic should pretend to give himself up to Metalla2?"

"Yep." Metalla nodded. "Sonic pretends to surrender, and that's the army's cue to pump number two full of lead."

"Sounds good to me." Carlu figured, putting the axe away. "Alright, so we call them up, Sonic surrenders on Royal Island, and Metalla2 ends up with a lot of holes. Great, now we have one problem: who knows Robotnic's phone number?"

"AWWWWWW!" Everybody slumped to the ground, beaten.

"That's it!" Akkar shouted as he got up. "Let's just use my idea, and barge in."

"No way." Knuckles shook his head. "I think we need some sort of messenger to send it to Robotnic."

"ARE YOU NUTS?!" Everyone shouted.

"Who'd send a message to Robotnic?" Metalla asked no one in particular.

"Oh, I dunno…" Sonic said as he looked Metalla in the face. Metalla snorted.

"You smart ass! I can't believe you just used my exact words!"

"I mean this for real." Sonic said, almost snapping. "C'mon, you can talk to Robotnic, and tell him…"

"No way!" Metalla rebelled, crossing his arms in a stubborn manner. "I am a living being, you know! I can get killed!"

"A living being?" Sonic laughed. "That's a good one."

"Well, maybe when I get my official freedom, I can be called one."

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Knuckles yelled, stepping in-between them. "Both of you, stop fighting! We have important matters to discuss." Sonic and Metalla weren't listening.

"Jerk." Sonic sneered.

"Looser." Metalla growled.

"Geek."

"Dweeb."

"Dork."

"Punk."

"Your mama's so dumb, she sold her Speeder for gasoline."

"Your mama's so fat, she caused an eclipse."

"Your mama's so fat, one time she went bungee jumping, she went strait to hell."

"Your mama's so fat, that right before God said 'Let there be light,' he told your mama to get her butt out of the way."

"Your mama's so fat, the President wants to make her a state."

"Your mama's so ugly, Robotnic wouldn't date her."

"The last time your mama got on a ferris wheel, the people on the top starved to death."

"Keep yakking about how fat my mama is. I don't care, cause my mama's Robotnic." Sonic gave Metalla a cold stare. Knuckles pushed Sonic over to the far side of the room where he wouldn't get to close to Metalla. "By the way, your mama's so fat, one time she jumped up in the air, she got stuck."

"For the last time," Tails said, holding a roll of duct tape in his hand for everyone to see, "be quiet before I take drastic measures." Sonic and Metalla shut up. "Now, how do we carry out our plan?"

****

DREET DREET DREET! DREET DREET DREET! The phone rang, and Sonic ran to go get it. He set the screen on, and it revealed Sera. She looked like she had been crying.

"SONIC!" she yelped. "HELP ME!" Then, a metallic claw covered her mouth.

"SERA!" Sonic yelled. The gang rushed into the room, and saw that Metalla2 had her hand over Sera's mouth. The robot was smiling wickedly.

"Hey Sonic, nice to see you again." The robot said, holding Sera a little tighter.

"Let her go, scrap metal!" Sonic demanded. Metalla2 laughed.

"Sonic, you know it's pointless to fight me. You're just going to die anyway. So, this is what I propose: you come to South Island, and surrender. I'll let Sera go, leave the Heavenly World alone, and I'll only kill you."

"Pass." Sonic said dryly.

"Or, you could make me come over there, destroy everything I see, and you will die last. Would you like to suffer as friends die left and right?" Sonic growled.

"There's no way I'm giving in to you!" he declared.

"Might as well say your last good-byes to Sera." Metalla smiled, letting go of Sera's mouth. "It'll be the last time you'll ever see her unless you do as I say."

"SONIC! PLEASE LISTEN TO HER!" Sera screamed. Sonic narrowed his eyes as he wondered what to do. Everyone crowded around him, hoping he would make the right decision. After a few minutes, Sonic made his decision.

"Alright." He nodded. "I surrender. I'll come so it's official, but I'll do so under two conditions."

"Okay, shoot."

"One: Sera will not be harmed."

"Fine with me. And what is the second condition?"

"Two: my friends have to come with me." Metalla2 nodded.

"Okay. Well, what are you waiting for? You better be here."

"You know I will. Over and out." Sonic hung up, and turned to his friends. "Well, so much for Robotnic's phone number."

"You sure I shouldn't come?" Metalla asked. "What if you really need me?"

"We will." Carlu explained. "It's just that we'll need back up sooner or later."

"Oh, okay." Metalla nodded. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing ya." Carlu gave Metalla a wink, and walked into Mika's Speeder while Sonic and Tails were getting ready to launch the Hurricane, their new biplane. Metalla watched as two Speeders and the biplane took off. Metalla went back into the house to wait and see who would come out victorious.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Akkar said as they approached South Island. The weather was starting to look bad, and the clouds were turning a dark gray. Akkar mostly noticed all the Royal Guard vehicles surrounding the islands. That couldn't have been a good sign.

"You aren't the only one." Knuckles said, tipping his hat back. "Royal Guard is all over this place. I wonder why they went out of their way to…oh shit." Knuckles said when he saw one Speeder in particular. It had a sleek shape, and was silver all over.

"What's the matter?" Mika asked, looking at the ship. Carlu understood immediately.

"It's Prince Mamoru's ship." She explained.

"He knows I'm coming." Knuckles muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Swell, just swell."

"Hang in there." Mika said as she worked the controls to the Speeder. "We're getting ready to land." Akkar took off his seatbelt, and grabbed the hand rest of his seat. He was beyond ready.

"Here he comes. This is it." Metalla2 looked around where she was: it was underneath a bridge that connected to uninhabited houses and buildings. Nearby was a large lake that stretched as far as Metalla2 could see. She held Sera a little more closely, knowing that several of the SIPD and Royal Guard were up on the bridge with guns ready and everything. She would just give them the impression that they're only giving her stress, and a hostage situation with a stressed gunman wasn't a good thing. So, anybody with a gun was out of her sight. So far, so good. Sonic was approaching, and his friends were joining him as well; it was merely practice for the forth Metalla. Metalla2 just smiled; things were defenintly going her way.

The Hurricane landed by the bridge, and Mika's Speeder landed a little further away. Prince Mamoru watched as Sonic the hedgehog stepped from the wing of the biplane, and his friends walked out of the Speeder. Mamoru spied Knuckles walking from the Speeder, and narrowed his eyes.

"Knuckelzu!" Mamoru shouted. Knuckles slapped his forehead. There was no escaping Dad now. "Knuckelzu, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be someplace else?"

"Dad, I volunteered to come." Knuckles explained.

"Don't you see the peril of the situation, you are going to get killed!"

"Dad, stop it. I can take care of myself."

"Prince Mamoru," a soldier from the Royal Guard called. "Is this boy troubling you? Who is he?"

"I'm just a friend." Knuckles explained to the soldier. "Now, where's Metalla2?"

"Just below the bridge, but I think that's Sonniku's business." As if on cue, Sonic walked up to the soldier.

"I'll take care of it." He suggested. "C'mon, guys! Let's go talk to this robot." Sonic's friends followed him.

Sonic jumped down the bridge, and saw that Metalla2 wasn't too far away. She held Sera in one hand, and had her other one on a pistol holstered at her side. She smiled upon seeing Sonic.

"Where's your friends?" she asked.

"Coming." Sonic explained. "Well, I'm here, now let Sera go." Metalla2 nodded, and let her hand take its grip off Sera. The poor girl ran away. Suddenly, Metalla2 laughed.

"You poor, stupid fool! It's so like you to fall into traps!"

"What do you mean?" Sonic was about to ask, when Metalla4 dropped from the sky, kicking Sonic in the face. Sonic toppled, and looked up at the ultimate Metalla model. Metalla4 stared at Sonic in absolute hatred, then it charged. Sonic jumped out of the way, but Metalla4 was on his heels. Metalla4 grabbed Sonic's feet, and swung him to the ground. Sonic hit with a thump. Metalla4 seemed to smile at the sight. He pointed a laser turret on the back of his hand right at Sonic's forehead. A guiding laser traveled its way up to the middle of Sonic's forehead. Metalla4 powered up his lasers…

BANG! Something hit him in the head! It was one of Knuckle's fists. Sonic's friends poured from the bridge, and right in front of Sonic.

"There's no way that any of you robots are getting near Sonic!" Carlu shouted, brandishing her axe. Metalla2 had to laugh.

"No, looks like we have to get past all of you. Not a problem for Metalla4." She stared at Carlu, and assigned Metalla4 to start with her, since she posed a big threat. Metalla4 charged at Carlu, and Carlu charged, spinning into a Sonic Spin, using her axe like Sonic used his spikes. She was about to slice into Metalla4's head, when he took hold of the axe handle, and flung it aside. Carlu was thrown to the ground. Knuckles attacked, but found that Metalla4 blocked all his moves, and the robot gave Knuckles a jump kick to the side, and the echidna was out of the fight. Tails tried sneaking up behind Metalla4 as Mika fired her laser gun at him. However, Metalla4 powered up his shield, and the lasers were no good. Tails charged at Metalla4 from behind, but only bounced off the shield to the ground. Metalla4 then fired a laser at Mika, and that sent her sprawling to the ground. Akkar made an attack for Metalla4 with a power kick, but Metalla4 blocked it, and gave Akkar an upper cut to the jaw. Sonic watched in horror as one by one, his friends were knocked out of battle. The surprising fact was that Metalla4 used their own moves against them! Metalla2 clapped with glee.

"Well done, number four, well done." She turned to Sonic. "I guess you aren't so tough without your friends, are you, Sonic?" Sonic just growled. "Y'know, that's all Metalla4 is here for: just to get your friends out of the picture. Now, I just need to get rid of you." She walked over to Sonic, and placed a laser turret at his forehead. "This time, I won't miss."

BANG! Carlu rammed into Metalla2, and sent her sprawling away from Sonic. Carlu grunted. "No way am I going to let anyone kill off my friends."

"Back off!" Metalla2 ordered, throwing a grenade at Carlu. Carlu just used her axe to slice the grenade in half, and it caused a mini explosion. Carlu jumped from the smoke, and tried to cut Metalla2 in half, but the robot was too quick for Carlu: she simply dodged out of the way, and the axe sunk into the ground. Akkar came into the fight, and started shooting at Metalla2. No bullet or lasers would effect her. She dived for Akkar, and snatched his gun away. Metalla4 snuck up behind Akkar, and got a hold on his throat. Knuckles attacked Metalla4 with a power kick to the side, causing the robot to let go of Akkar. Mika slowly got up, but was jumped on by Metalla2 before she could stand. Metalla2 made another attack for Sonic, but Tails jumped behind her back, and covered her eyes. Metalla2 crashed into a nearby wall. Sonic got up, and made his attack on Metalla4, who was occupied with three echidnas and another hedgehog. Sonic Spin Dashed and rammed into Metalla4's side, knocking the robot over. However, Metalla4 kicked Sonic off of him, and Sonic felt a knee cap meet his face with a hard force.

Meanwhile, up on the bridge, the South Island Police Department and the Royal Guard of Prince Mamoru watched in amazement at the battle that raged below. Sera was hugging her father, the President, with all her might, and the Prince Mamoru watched worriedly as his son engaged in battle with two different robots. Prince Mamoru felt the fear well in him, and he ordered a soldier to get him a gun.

Knuckles gave Metalla4 a punch where the mouth would be. Metalla4 staggered for a moment, then attacked again. Spikes zipped from his left hand, and he punched Knuckles face with it. The blades sunk into Knuckle's face and nose, and he slumped to the ground, holding his face in his hands. Metalla4 gave him another sharp punch to the chest, and Knuckles collapsed.

"NO!" Carlu shouted, charging with her axe in hand. Metalla4 swiftly snatched the axe from her hands, and flung it into the lake beyond. Carlu attacked with a quick jump, only to be shot in the stomach with a laser from Metalla4's right hand. She crashed on her stomach with a winded gasp. Akkar tried attacking behind Metalla4, but Metalla4 grabbed Akkar's swung fist, and flung him over his shoulder. Akkar landed on his back very hard. He turned over, and looked at Metalla4, who was fighting Sonic again. Akkar watched Metalla4 fight, and wondered. _The way Metalla4 flung me over his shoulder…that's one of Seven's moves. How could he possibly…oh no! Could Metalla4 be Seven in a different form?_

CHOOME! A laser shot from a different direction shot Metalla4 in the head. Metalla2 recovered to see that the Prince Mamoru had joined the battle. "You metallic monsters leave my son and his friends alone!"

"SON?! WHAT?" Metalla2 shouted in surprise. Then, she looked at the groaning Knuckles who was still holding his bleeding face, and was wrapped in Carlu's arms. Metalla2 smiled. "Of course, how obvious. However, I have my duties. I'll deal with the so-called treasure hunter later." She picked up a sharp piece of metal from the ground. She spied Sonic, trying to sneak up on Metalla4. Metalla2 charged, and threw the piece of metal like a spear. Sonic didn't see it coming, until it was too late. He tried jumping out of the way, but it snagged some skin from his throat. Sonic fell to the ground, and Metalla2 threw a grenade at him. It exploded, drowning out Sonic's scream. When the smoke cleared, it revealed Sonic sprawled on the ground. Sonic had trouble breathing, and he was coughing like crazy. He tried calling for help, but his throat had trouble making talking noises.

"Ugh!" Metalla grunted as he suddenly fell to the ground, clutching his throat. He slowly got up, and looked out the door of the house. "Sonic is in danger!"

"Knuckelzu." Carlu sobbed, holding Knuckles close. "Don't die, please don't die!"

"You know I won't, baby." He comforted, taking a hold of her shoulder. "Just don't die on me, Kick." She kissed him on the head, and neither of them realized that Metalla4 was right behind them, watching for the right moment…

"Help." Sonic gasped as Metalla2 approached him. Sonic felt an incredible pain in his chest; his lungs were going to give up on him at any moment. Metalla made the pain worse by putting a foot on his chest.

"Hmm," she wondered. "What would happen if I powered up my rocket boosters right here on your chest?" She put some pressure on Sonic's chest. He winced in pain. "I sure hope you die, Sonic. Then, I'll get rid of Robotnic, and I'll take over Eggman Land, then the world." She put her other foot on Sonic's chest. "Fortunately, for me, there won't be any opposition once I do take over. First off, you won't be there." She laughed, and looked back at the battle that Metalla4 was having with Sonic's friends. "Let's see...Knuckles, Carlu, Tails, Mika, that one bounty hunter...hey, wasn't there somebody else?"

BANG! Something slammed into Metalla2, knocking her off Sonic. Metalla2 got to her feet, and saw the one person she never thought she would see…

"Metalla1?! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Taking care of business." Metalla answered with a growl and a punch to Metalla2's face. Prince Mamoru ran to Sonic's side.

"Mr. Sonic, are you alright?" he asked desperately. Sonic couldn't answer. "Mr. Sonic, please get up! You have to help my son!"

"I…I don't know if I can." Sonic barely whispered. He tried to stand up, with Prince Mamoru as his aide, but he collapsed over, back on the ground.

"Mr. Sonic, please get up." Prince Mamoru urged. "You have to save your friends."

Metalla4 had chased all of Sonic's friends to the building area. He launched a grenade at one of the buildings, and it toppled over them. Sonic's friends were buried under steel and wood pieces, and Akkar found that his leg had been stabbed. Carlu and Tails found that they were unharmed, but pinned. Mika had her hand caught under some rubble, and couldn't pull it out. Knuckles was nowhere in sight. Tails and Carlu tried calling for help, but Metalla4 was the only one paying attention.

"Excellent work, number four." Metalla2 called as she wrestled with Metalla. "Now, finish them off!"

Sonic weakly got up with Prince Mamoru's help, and looked at the situation his friends were in. Sonic pushed Mamoru away, and Spin Dashed towards Metalla2. He knocked her over, and looked over at his friends for an instant. He heard Mika calling his name, and calling for help. Sonic raced for them, and let Metalla pound on Metalla2. Suddenly, Sonic fell over. He was too weak to keep running, but he had to keep going: Mika was in trouble! His friends were in trouble! But…he had trouble standing up!

"Sonic!" he heard Tails yell at the top of his lungs. "Help us!" Sonic looked in Tail's direction. Sonic stood up, and saw that Metalla4 was about to launch a grenade at the rubble. The explosion would kill all his friends. Sonic narrowed his eyes and Spin Dashed as quickly as he could. The grenade launched…

Sonic grabbed it, and in a split second, he threw it away, and it hit Metalla2 square in the chest. Metalla2 had a few seconds to scream in fear…

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM! The grenade exploded, taking Metalla2 with it. Sonic whipped his forehead with relief, until Metalla4 side-kicked him in the head. Sonic was plowed into the pile, and punched in the face. Sonic was pinned to the ground, and he noticed that the metal spikes were visible on Metalla4's left hand. Sonic gulped; the spikes were poised right at his head. He closed his eyes, this was it…

"SEVEN, STOP!" a voice shouted. Metalla4 turned to see that Akkar was standing from the rubble, clutching his bleeding leg. "Don't kill Sonic! He's a friend!"

"Akkar, what the hell are you doing?" Carlu called from where she was. Tails realized what Akkar was saying.

"I get it! Seven is Metalla4!" he exclaimed. "Seven, don't you recognize us?"

"Seven!" Knuckles called from wherever he was. "Why don't you remember us? I'm your best friend next to Akkar! Remember Knuckles?"

"C'mon, Seven." Akkar urged. "You have to remember! You have to remember us!"

"Hahahahahahahahahahaa!" a familiar voice laughed. Sonic looked up to see Robotnic in his Speeder not too far away. "He doesn't remember any of it, you fools! His mind belongs to me!"

"You may know everything about controlling minds, Eggboy!" Akkar shouted, almost in tears. "But you know nothing about hearts! Seven still has his heart! He will remember us!" Akkar noticed that Metalla4 was looking at him strangely.

"Nonsense!" Robotnic declared. "Metalla4, destroy all these fools, starting with the bounty hunter!" Metalla4 charged for Akkar.

"SEVEN!" Akkar shouted before getting plowed. The robot pinned the echidna, and readied his spikes.

"Now," Robotnic urged, "kill him!" Suddenly, Metalla4 looked in Robotnic's direction, eyes glowing red…

…Robotnic never saw it coming…

…Robotnic's Speeder was sent flying past the bridge, and into the lake! Metalla4 looked proudly as the Speeder splashed into the water. He turned to Akkar, the spikes went away, and a thumb was displayed, pointing upward.

"Sykes," the robot said, "I'm here, and it's over."

Knuckles and Sonic were taken to the hospital immediately. Seven looked down at his hands outside the hospital entrance. He stared down at them angrily.

"So, this is me from now on?" he asked Carlu. She nodded.

"Afraid so. But hey, there are some good things to this: you've got some cool new weapons built into you, and you're more indestructible than before." Seven nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so." He patted Carlu's shoulder. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you later, kid." He winked. "Gotta go. Akkar and Mika are waiting for me back in the Speeder."

"A bounty hunters job is never done, huh?" she asked. Seven chuckled slightly.

"Yeah. Later!" He took off, leaving Carlu behind by herself. Then, she noticed that Metalla wasn't too far away. He was just standing at the edge of the parking lot, looking at the sunset. Carlu walked up to him, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you did pretty good back there." She praised. "I could use somebody like you on my adventures." Metalla shook his head.

"No thanks. I only want my own individual freedom, to be my own master for once, like I always dreamed it would be." He looked back at the sunset. "Now that I have it finally, I don't know what to do with it."

"What else?" Carlu suggested. "Start over, live your own life. See the world, or something. Do whatever you want."

"But, I don't know what to do now that I'm free."

"Well, you have the freedom to decide for yourself." Carlu said. Metalla looked at the huge orange sun, and nodded. He took a few steps, then looked behind him at Carlu.

"I need you to tell Sonic something for me."

"Yeah, what is it?" Carlu asked.

"Tell him that his mama's so fat, whenever she goes to the beach the tide comes in." One of his eyes flickered, something of a wink, and he turned and left.

"HEY!" Sonic yelled from a window in the hospital. "I HEARD THAT, METAL PANTS!" Metalla laughed as he rocketed away. "HEY, GET BACK HERE!" Carlu giggled, watched Metalla become a speck in the distance, and walked back to the hospital.

"Sonic, don't make that face!" Carlu called back to Sonic. "It'll get stuck that way."

The End! (Cue "Look Alike")


End file.
